


Stay

by squiggid



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Guilt, Love for ALVIS, M/M, Sex, Spoilers, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:34:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26095693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/squiggid/pseuds/squiggid
Summary: Shulk's had enough time to think about that night so long ago, replay it over and over, think about how he'd have changed what he'd done, what he'd said, how he could have made Alvis stay.
Relationships: Alvis/Shulk (Xenoblade Chronicles)
Kudos: 25





	Stay

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sequel to [Master](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25822558), because I wanted to give them a happy ending, damn it--but I suppose you don't need to read that one first to understand what's going on here.

When Shulk opens the door and sees the familiar silver-haired boy that he'd been hoping to see every day for months, it doesn't take him long to pull him inside and shove him against the wall with a kiss. Alvis gasps against his lips once before his breath is swallowed again by Shulk's mouth—pushy, desperate, nothing like they were before, when Shulk was so hesitant with each of his touches.

No. Shulk's had enough time to know what he wants. He's had enough time to think about that night so long ago, replay it over and over, think about how he'd have changed what he'd done, what he'd said, how he could have made Alvis stay.

If only he'd had the ability to see the future at the time, maybe he wouldn't be so desperate against Alvis' mouth now.

"Shulk," Alvis whispers into the kiss.

Hearing his name with that voice again—oh, it makes Shulk's head light, it makes his heart ache. How long has he wanted to hear that voice again? How long has he waited to touch this beautiful, amazing body that unwinds at every touch?

Alvis has always liked his hands. He’d made that very clear last time. He's lucky that Shulk loves touching him as much as Alvis likes being touched. He's lucky that Shulk can't keep his hands off him, can't help undressing him, can't help pulling his length out of his pants and stroking his hardening shaft.

"Shulk," Alvis moans.

Alvis’ hand is on the back of Shulk's neck, using it as leverage to rock his hips into Shulk's hand, just like he did last time—just like last time, when they wound up on the bed with Alvis wrapped around Shulk and holding him so tight while whispering demands in his ear.

"O-ohh," Alvis says, voice shaky. "Please."

His voice says it all—need, want, desperation. The desire for something that he's been waiting for for far too long.

Shulk understands.

This time, it's Shulk who leads them to the bedroom. It's Shulk who pushes Alvis down onto the mattress, deciding the pace of everything, even when Alvis is pleading to be filled, when Alvis is gripping onto his shoulders once again, when Alvis is crying out as Shulk hits a spot that makes his own breath hitch with every thrust.

They come far too fast, but it can't be helped. It's been too long, after all.

Their mouths move against each other as they climb down from their high, bodies still entangled in each other's.

"How long can you stay?" Shulk whispers into the kiss.

Alvis breaks away, looks at Shulk for a moment with those clouded gray eyes, and then averts his gaze.

"I shouldn't be too long," he answers quietly.

"Why?" Shulk demands, voice raising. "Why can't you stay?"

"Shulk..."

"Stay." Shulk presses his lips to the side of Alvis' face. "Please stay."

Alvis cranes his neck a bit, nuzzling into Shulk's touch, before he taps lightly at Shulk's hips.

"Let me go."

Let him go. If Shulk lets him go, when will he ever be able to hold him again?

But he does. Shulk pulls out and cleans them up—even goes so far as grabbing Alvis' clothes in the entryway just in case the boy really does need to leave right away.

Thankfully, Alvis only pulls on his underwear before sitting up against the headboard, quiet and subdued as usual. He's always been so mysterious, even when he opens up an inch at a time.

Finally, with his voice so soft, Alvis answers Shulk’s question.

"I cannot stay. I am but a reminder of your past.” 

The words break the dam in Shulk's heart, and his emotions fly into his words, tone harsh and frustrated.

"Reyn is a reminder of my past," Shulk bites. "Dunban—hell, out of everyone,  _ Fiora  _ most of all is a reminder of my past.”

“Fiora…” Alvis’ eyelids flutter shut. “You should be with her.”

Shulk grits his teeth. “We tried. But I couldn’t get someone else out of my head.”

Alvis opens his eyes to peer at him through thick lashes. “I am sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Shulk dismisses. “Just be here. And move on—with me."

"Move on… with you?"

Alvis chuckles uncomfortably and then wraps one arm around his other elbow. It's a withdrawn motion, the opposite of the confident hand on his hip that he used to do.

"I am still not used to this world where you must face the horrors of your past,” Alvis admits.

"It's uncomfortable, sure," Shulk agrees. "But that's how we grow. If we didn't, we would never learn anything."

Alvis smiles wistfully. “Perhaps that was the core of Zanza’s downfall.”

“Zanza’s not here anymore,” Shulk points out, sitting closer to the boy. “He hasn’t been for ages. You’re free from his shackles.”

“It is... difficult to grasp autonomy of oneself when one has been subservient to others for so long,” Alvis says with a cock of his head.

“I can understand that, and I’m not asking you to be subservient to me, as my weapon.” Shulk places a hand on Alvis’ elbow. “I’m asking you to be by my side. As my partner.”

Alvis purses his lips before getting off the bed. “I’m uncertain if I deserve such a position.”

“Please.” Shulk stands up and takes Alvis’ hand. “Forgive yourself.”

Alvis’ voice sounds strained when he says, “You do not—you could not understand the weight I carry from the power I had.”

“The power you had didn’t only cause destruction,” Shulk counters. “The power you had gave us life.”

A little aggressively, but still with care, Shulk places both hands on the sides of Alvis’ face.

“You recreated the universe to give us a choice,” Shulk says, leaning in. “And I choose you.”

Finally, it looks like the wall has crumbled inside of Alvis. His eyes are wide, his breath hitches, and his legs give in, his whole body tumbling to the floor.

“Alvis!” Shulk gasps, dropping down next to the boy.

Alvis looks so small like this, sitting unsteadily on the floor. Every time Shulk has seen him, he’s always looked so confident, so sure of not only himself, but of the world around him, of the timeline that was to come. He’s never been like this before, so unsure, so caught off-guard. It must be terrifying for the seer to be faced with something so unknown.

Just when Shulk is about to give in and apologize for pushing too hard, Alvis meets Shulk’s gaze. Those gray eyes that are usually so blank and mysterious are swirling with emotion: confusion, uncertainty, hesitation.

Slowly, Alvis lifts his head and nods. With everything that’s happened in the past few moments, it takes a moment for Shulk to realize what Alvis could possibly be nodding about.

“Yeah?” Shulk says, feeling his heart lift.

“Yes,” Alvis says quietly.

And then Alvis smiles, finally, the small, soft one that he usually gives Shulk, whenever he’s proud of him, whenever he’s teaching him something and Shulk is catching on. Shulk always wondered when he’d next see that smile, but he doesn’t have to wonder anymore.

Letting out a laugh that expels all the wound up emotions in his chest, Shulk leans in and wraps his arms around the boy. Alvis chuckles in return, melting into the touch.

“It is exciting, isn’t it? To live in this unwritten world,” Alvis murmurs into Shulk’s shoulder. “I never know what to expect. I experience feelings I’ve never experienced before.”

“What do you feel now?” Shulk asks.

“Relief. Acceptance. Fear.” A pause, and then, “Hope.”

“I think you’re forgetting one thing,” Shulk says with a smile. “Or maybe it’s all of those combined.”

“Oh? What is that?”

Pulling back from the hug, Shulk taps Alvis’ chest lightly. “Love.”

“Love?”

Alvis blinks. He averts his gaze, and a contemplative and curious look falls on his face. This boy was an all-knowing seer, the weapon of a fallen god, but right now, he’s just a boy trying to understand that he’s fallen in love for the first time. It’s adorable and, really, very funny, when he thinks about it, and Shulk can’t help the laugh that escapes his lips.

Seeing the amusement on Shulk’s face, Alvis skews his face into a disapproving frown. “It isn’t very polite to ridicule someone who’s learning about himself.”

“No, no, that’s not it at all,” Shulk clarifies, still chasing away a few laughs.

He takes Alvis’ hand and smiles at him, feeling like his whole body and soul has been lighter than it has in months.

“Learn about yourself all you want,” Shulk says. “We can learn about you together.”

“Together…” Alvis echoes, intertwining their fingers, focusing on Shulk’s hands like he always is. “Like we used to be?”

“Yes, but not as master and blade or teacher and student,” Shulk says, squeezing Alvis’ hand. “Just as two people in love.”

Alvis’ smile is softer and more innocent than it has ever been.

Even if Alvis is just beginning to learn the feeling of love, Shulk isn’t. He’s felt this for a long time.


End file.
